After delays from the political crisis in the first half of this year, at least 15 housing projects worth a combined 4 billion baht are scheduled for launch in Khon Kaen in the second half, says the Khon Kaen Real Estate Association.
Mr Channarong says single house and townhouse projects will dominate in the Isan province for the second half.
President Channarong Buristrakul said overall housing market sentiment in this northeastern province had improved since the political problems eased, prompting local residents to shift their attention away from politics to business.
“Many more customers have returned to project sites to see sample houses this month, while commercial banks now talk about mortgage campaigns to attract homebuyers,” he said.
The 15 projects will be single houses and townhouses introduced by local and Bangkok-based developers, which will launch 100 and 200 units per project, respectively.
Condominium developers have remained silent about potential projects, as the high-rise residential segment is now suffering a 50% oversupply, Mr Channarong said.
“For new condo projects, developers will probably wait and see how the market develops this year. Next year should be better,” said Mr Channarong, also managing director of the Khon Kaen-based developer Piman Group.
About 1,000 condo units will be completed in the second half, 50% of them from Piman Group. Another 2,000 units will be completed each year from 2015-16.
Of the total new condo supply, 70% has been absorbed, Mr Channarong said.
In the first half only a few residential projects opened in Khon Kaen, all low-rises.
One was a townhouse with unit prices starting at 1.7 million baht from SET-listed developer Supalai. Another featured single houses priced from 4-7 million baht from SET-listed Sansiri, while a local developer kicked off a low-rise project.
The local housing market dropped by 30%year-on-year in the first half, while the number of customers making a decision declined to only 10% of those visiting project sites from a more usual 30%.
“Upcountry property markets have grown incredibly, driven by local demand and non-locals who invest or have some sort of business in the IT, high-tech, software, small factory and logistics sectors,” he said.
With so many of these businesses settling down in the province, new graduates no longer need to move to other economic-boom destinations in Thailand or abroad. They can instead stay and work in Khon Kaen, Mr Channarong said.
He said land prices in Khon Kaen's business district on Srichan Road were stable in the first half and could even be bargained down. They may rise slightly in the second half but nowhere close to the skyrocketing level seen during the condo boom in recent years.
The highest price is now 200,000 baht a square wah on Srichan Road, with Kallapapruek Road near Khon Kaen University coming in second.
To boost second-half sales, the association will host the Isan House & Condo Fair at CentralPlaza Khon Kaen from Dec 4-7.